Blue Grotto Capri

The Blue Grot­to (Grot­ta Azzur­ra) in Capri is one of Italy’s most icon­ic and mag­i­cal nat­ur­al attrac­tions. This sea cave is renowned for its ethe­re­al blue glow, cre­at­ed when sun­light fil­ters through an under­wa­ter cav­i­ty, reflect­ing off the white sandy seafloor and illu­mi­nat­ing the cave with a vibrant elec­tric blue light. The entrance to the grot­to is small and sit­u­at­ed just above sea lev­el, mak­ing access pos­si­ble only by small row­boats dur­ing calm sea con­di­tions. Once inside, vis­i­tors are immersed in a sur­re­al atmos­phere, with the water appear­ing almost lumi­nes­cent. His­tor­i­cal­ly, the grot­to was a pri­vate marine sanc­tu­ary for Emper­or Tiberius dur­ing Roman times, fea­tur­ing ornate dec­o­ra­tions and stat­ues, some of which have been recov­ered in mod­ern times. For cen­turies, locals feared the grot­to, asso­ci­at­ing it with myths of spir­its and sirens, until its redis­cov­ery in 1826 by Ger­man poet August Kopisch, who pop­u­lar­ized it as a must-see destination.

To vis­it the Blue Grot­to, take a boat tour depart­ing from Mari­na Grande, Capri’s main port. Many orga­nized boat trips include the grot­to as part of their itin­er­ary. For a more exclu­sive expe­ri­ence you can book a pri­vate boat tour with Sor­ren­to Voy­age. Once near the Blue Grot­to, small row­ing boats take vis­i­tors inside through a nar­row entrance.

The Blue Grot­to is typ­i­cal­ly open dai­ly from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, weath­er per­mit­ting. How­ev­er, con­di­tions like high tides or rough seas may cause tem­po­rary clo­sures. It’s advis­able to check with Sor­ren­to Voy­age on the day of your visit.

The entrance fee to the Blue Grot­to is approx­i­mate­ly €18 per per­son. This fee is col­lect­ed by the row­boat oper­a­tor upon enter­ing the cave. Addi­tion­al charges may apply for trans­porta­tion to the grot­to via a boat tour or pri­vate charter.

Swim­ming in the Blue Grot­to is offi­cial­ly pro­hib­it­ed dur­ing open­ing hours due to safe­ty reg­u­la­tions. How­ev­er, some pri­vate tours may offer ear­ly morn­ing or late evening vis­its, allow­ing you to expe­ri­ence the mag­i­cal glow of the cave waters while swim­ming in a more exclu­sive setting.